Congressional & Capitol Hill News

The Daily Signal delivers comprehensive congressional news with reporting and conservative commentary on House and Senate activities, legislative priorities, committee investigations, leadership battles, and the fight for conservative policy in both chambers of Congress.
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    • News

    Raw Account of Senator’s Weekend Trip to the Border

    Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., traveled to Texas this weekend for a first-hand look at the security at the U.S. border with Mexico. The trip comes as Congress wrestles with how to fund the Department of Homeland Security with a deadline of Feb. 27. Conservatives hope to use the funding measure as leverage to attack President…
    Kelsey Lucas
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    • Opinion

    How This GOP Governor Is Bypassing His State’s Liberal Lawmakers to Promote Right-to-Work Laws

    Newly elected Illinois governor Bruce Rauner is already trying to shake up his state: He just proposed local right-to-work laws, albeit at the local rather than state level. As the Associated Press reports: The states that are already growing don’t force unionization into their economy,” Rauner told an audience at Richland Community College in Decatur, a city…
    James Sherk
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    • Opinion

    Under Republican Control, the Senate Returns to Work

    In the lead-up to the November elections, Senate Republicans made a promise: If elected, we would get Washington working again. In particular, we would get the Senate working again. In 2014, the Democrat leadership allowed just 15 amendment roll call votes. After years of dysfunction under Democrat control, it was time for the Senate to…
    Sen. John Thune
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    • News

    Find Out How Your Senators Voted on the Keystone XL Pipeline

    The Senate approved legislation on Thursday authorizing construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline, despite threats from the White House to veto it. The legislation was passed in a 62-36 vote. Supporters of the pipeline contend that it would create jobs and boost economic growth, and opponents worry about potential environmental ramifications. “Constructing Keystone would pump…
    Kate Scanlon
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    • Opinion

    Senate Hearing: Four Surface Transportation Policies Worth Knowing About

    The latest bailout of the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) expires at the end of May, so the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee called a hearing to discuss the reauthorization of the federal highway and transit programs funded through the trust fund. Conspicuously absent from the discussion were calls to eliminate wasteful spending in reliable…
    Emily Goff
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    • News

    Your Guide to Loretta Lynch’s Confirmation Hearing in 42 Seconds

    President Obama’s nominee for attorney general, U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch, made her first appearance before lawmakers today, with Republican senators working to make sure Lynch could differentiate herself from her predecessor, Eric Holder. Lynch testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this morning for the first part of her confirmation hearing. Democratic senators were adamant in…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • Opinion

    Why Don’t Lawmakers Want to Update the Tax Code?

    Lawmakers in Washington have plenty of work ahead of them this year, so the temptation to punt on everything but the “hot” issues will be strong. Here’s one they should tackle without hesitation: tax reform. It’s long overdue. One glance at the tax code, and you won’t be surprised to learn it’s been nearly 30…
    Ed Feulner
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    • Opinion

    Defending the Filibuster: The Soul of the Senate

    Taken together, the events in recent years threaten to change the U.S. Senate as we know it. Some inside the Senate and outside will cheer these developments. Many progressive organizations continue to demand an end to the filibuster. Whether they will continue this quest can only be surmised. In 2010, just a few months before…
    Richard Arenberg
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    • News

    What You Need to Know About Joni Ernst, the Iowa Senator Giving the Republican Response to the State of the Union

    Joni Ernst, a freshman senator from Iowa who took office just two weeks ago, will have the task of responding to President Obama’s State of the Union tonight. Truly honored to announce that I will be delivering the #GOPAddress to the country following the President's #SOTU. Tune in Tuesday, 1/20. — Joni Ernst (@joniernst) January…
    Ben Smith
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    • Opinion

    Senator McCain’s Jones Act Amendment: Good for America

    Senator John McCain (R–AZ) recently introduced an amendment to repeal harmful aspects of the Jones Act, a 1920 law that restricts the use of foreign-built or foreign-owned ships for transporting goods within the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “The coastwise laws [like the Jones Act] are highly protectionist provisions that…
    Bryan Riley
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    • News

    At Least One Lawmaker Supports a Third Romney Run for President

    HERSHEY, Pa. — Mitt Romney may not have support from Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. But Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah is on board with a potential third run from the 2012 Republican presidential candidate. Speaking with reporters today at the joint Republican retreat in Hershey, Penn., Chaffetz, a Romney supporter, endorsed another White House…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • News

    Conservative Lawmakers Prepare to Split From Republican Study Committee

    Move over Republican Study Committee. There’s about to be a new conservative group in town. Just two months after the 172-member organization elected Rep. Bill Flores of Texas as its new chairman, a group of nine lawmakers decided to split from the RSC and form its own conservative caucus. The group doesn’t yet have a name,…
    Melissa Quinn
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    • News

    Lawmaker Wants to Pass Law Requiring Local University to Have a Football Team

    CULLMAN, Ala. — The University of Alabama may have not proven such a bully on the football field this year, taking it on the chin against Ohio State in the national playoff semifinal. But it may yet flex its muscle in state politics. While Bama and 75 other Football Bowl Subdivision teams played postseason games…
    Johnny Kampis
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    • Opinion

    Refusing to Wait for State Lawmakers to Act, These Counties Passed Right-to-Work Laws

    A major economics story for conservatives slipped under the radar screen as Americans celebrated the New Year: Two more Kentucky counties passed local right-to-work laws. On December 30, Fulton and Simpson counties approved right-to-work ordinances; several more counties appear set to follow suit in the coming days. Right-to-work laws make union dues voluntary. Absent such laws,…
    James Sherk
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    • News

    Are These Solar Panel Companies Deceiving Consumers? Lawmakers Are Investigating.

    Solar contractors, including SolarCity and Sunrun, are in the crosshairs of both Republicans and Democrats in Congress who seek an end to what they call “potentially deceptive sales tactics” associated with the companies’ zero-down, 20-year lease business model. Spurred by consumer complaints that the massive savings they were promised never materialized, 12 Republicans and four…
    Paul Runko
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    • Opinion

    The Two Key Passages from the Constitution All Lawmakers Should Read

    For the third time in our nation’s history, the Constitution will be read out loud on the floor of the House of Representatives Friday. Cynics, or those who simply follow the antics of Congress, will likely roll their eyes and dismiss this as a stunt. But a public reading of the Constitution is not entirely…
    David Azerrad
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    • News

    Mississippi Lawmakers to Tackle Education, Taxes

    In Mississippi, lawmakers already are gearing up to tackle education, tax relief and the state’s contracting system, among other issues. Here is a quick look at the three biggest issues the legislature will tackle in 2015: Education With a ballot initiative and a lawsuit on deck over K-12 education funding, the legislature will have to address…
    Steve Wilson
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    • News

    Pennsylvania Lawmakers Consider Giving Themselves Fewer Perks

    HARRISBURG, Pa.—Rep. Brad Roae might be the most optimistic guy in the Pennsylvania Statehouse. Roae, a Republican from Crawford, Pa., has plans to push a trio of reform measures that would eliminate state cars for lawmakers, strip lawmakers’ cost-of-living increases and end per diem on weekends in some cases. They’re taxpayer-friendly ideas, but it’s uncertain…
    Andrew Staub
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    • News

    Speaker Rebellion About ‘Party Unity, Not Infighting,’ Conservative Lawmaker Says

    Rep. Jim Bridenstine, R-Okla., a leader among conservatives who hoped to dislodge House Speaker John Boehner from his post, told The Daily Signal in an on-camera interview today why he will fight to “stand up and make a change.” Bridenstine said he would support either announced challenger —  Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, or Rep. Ted…
    Josh Siegel
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    • News

    Tennessee Lawmakers Don’t Plan to Tackle Government Theft

    NASHVILLE—The New Year is here and, thus far, of all the priorities Tennessee legislators have laid out for the 2015 General Assembly, none involve clamping down on government employees who steal from taxpayers. Auditors with the state Comptroller’s Office in 2014 continued to churn out audits showing that government employees who have sole access to…
    Chris Butler
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